Monday, September 24, 2012

PRIDE OF LIONS: "Immortal"

"A Boy. A Voice. A Dream. He's got just one chance to make it... and become "IMMORTAL". The new Broadway musical by Jim Peterik." Okay, as far as I know Jim Peterik has no plans to turn this into a musical, but if he did, he wouldn't really have to change the songs that much. I like Peterik's songwriting and vocalist Toby Hitchcock is an awesome singer, but some of the songs on this album really do sound like they were intended for a theatrical piece.

The title track is a suitably uptempo opener, with Peterik and Hitchcock sharing the lead vocals. I actually prefer Peterik's vocals on this track, as Hitchcock goes over the top with the theatrics during the choruses. As for the song, it's not bad, but not the kind of opener that grabs you right away. The lead-off single "Delusional" sees the duo sharing the vocals again, but no matter who sings, the song really doesn't work for me. It has Broadway written all over it. "Tie Down The Wind" is okay enough midtempo AOR track, but "Shine On" sounds like another track from "Immortal - the musical". The gigantic ballad "Everything That Money Can't Buy" is another very theatrical track, but somehow it works better than the others.

"Coin Of The Realm" has obvious connections to Peterik's past hits and don't be surprised if you feel a burning sensation in your heart... I'm not so sure about the chorus though. "Sending My Love" sounds a lot like "Edge Of The Century"-era Styx, it's nice AOR song with a restrained vocal from Hitchcock. Apparently "Vital Signs" dates back to the Survivor-album by the same name, although it was finished only this year. Unsurpringly it's quite Survivor'ish, but that never hurt an AOR track, did it? One of the better tracks of the album.

"If It Doesn't Kill Me" is my favourite track of the album, classic AOR with no Broadway leanings. The melancholic and moody ballad "Are You The Same Girl" is another favourite, and the energetic closing track "Ask Me Yesterday" isn't too bad either.

I can't say that I'm too fond of the first half of the album, but things start to look brighter when the duo gets most of the theatrical stuff out of the way. Maybe the album would work better with the tracks in a reverse order?